Sofonisba was one of the 17 original ladies in waiting chosen for the court of the new fourteen year old Spanish queen, the former Elisabeth de Valois, daughter of Henry II of France and Catherine de Medici. Eight Spanish noblewomen and eight French noblewomen comprised the rest of the young queen’s court. Sofonisba stood out from the other ladies in waiting as the only one chosen for her talent rather than her social status.
On the night of the royal wedding, courtiers hesitated to dance at the wedding banquet. Girolamo Neri, the ambassador for the Duke of Mantua, Gugliemo Gonzaga, wrote to his lord, “il signore Ferrante Gonzaga fu il primo ch’incomincio’; quale ando’ a predere quella Cremonese che dipinge, ch’e’ venuta a star con la regina, et fece la via a multi alter che ball arono dapoi.” Signore Gonzaga was the first to began [dancing] and he went to take the one from Cremona who paints, who came to stay with the queen, and [they] made a path for the others to begin dancing after. (Cremona Catalogue 367, citing ASMn Gonzaga, Esteri 590, letter dated February 8, 1560).
Within months of the royal wedding, Sofonisba began private painting sessions with the new young queen. The two women collaborated in their new life together in Spain. This is the beginning of Sofonisba’s extensive personal relationship with the Habsburg royal family.
ISBN 978-0-86698-821-6
Lady In Ermine: The Story of A Woman Who Painted The Renaissance 